Kirdi Pikuran Cache Sexe or Fertility Apron

Strung in tiny beads, a narrow apron flashes a yellow animal on blue.

This pikuran cache sexe, or fertility apron is Kirdi, from Cameroon, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven glass & cowrie. The Kirdi are the many small peoples of the Mandara Mountains in northern Cameroon, known for beadwork worn as part of everyday and ceremonial dress. Minute beads in red, white, green, black and blue are strung into a long band with zigzag blocks and vertical stripes. A yellow four-legged figure stands in the center panel, and a fringe of small white shells hangs along the lower edge. It is 19.5 inches wide and 7.5 long.

Every bead had to be placed, and it shows.